4.5/5.0 Stars

THE BUSINESS TRIP – by Jessie Garcia

‘Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man―the messages becoming stranger and more erratic.

‘And then the two women vanish.’

I love how the story plays out with an ending I did not predict—Highly Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with an eBook and Audiobook of THE BUSINESS TRIP at the request of an honest review.

Scheduled For Release, January 14, 2025, Though Subject To Change.

Possibly a 3.5.* It was interesting enough to listen to. I’d probably try another book by this author. The twist at the end was unexpected, but I’m not sure it was necessary. Definitely wasn’t expecting the villain to be who it was. Thanks NetGalley for the audio copy to review.

Stephanie appears to lead a charmed life as a network director for a local news organization in Madison, Wisconsin while Jasmine is trying to escape an abusive relationship, poverty and a waitressing job where she feels like a nobody. When they both end up on the same plane seated in the same row, Jasmine to Denver and Stephanie to San Diego the wheels begin to turn and the story begins.

From the onset of the book the reader is introduced to a lot of characters and this was both a positive and a negative. While it helped with the shifting focus, especially as points of views changed throughout the first half of the book, by the end there were stories that felt unfinished. Jasmine's friend Ana played a large role, but what happened when she found out the truth? Jasmine's abusive boyfriend was given some street level justice, but then what happened to him? And what of Stephanie's family, particularly her son Evan, because Stephanie referenced a strain in their relationship following her divorce from Evan's dad?

The pacing of the story felt right and it was very easy to become invested in the story and the characters of Jasmine and Stephanie. Jasmine frustrated me though as I felt she became too calculating too quickly. This was later explained with another twist, but the that personality shift didn't really fit with her as a battered woman. A lot of the twists, while surprising, were very convenient and you did have to suspend some level of belief to move with the flow.

There was one glaring plot hole though, and the set it hit, I struggled to come back into the story with the same level of investment. This is a massive spoiler so stop reading if you haven't read the book yet. We know Stephanie checked into her hotel in San Diego, because that is where the conference was and where she met Daisy. We also know Jasmine stole Stephanie's license when they were on the plane and she began plotting to take over Stephanie's life. When Jasmine arrived at the hotel, she used that ID to get new room keys made to Stephanie's room. How did Stephanie check into the hotel without knowing her license was missing? That smacked me in the middle of listening, and it was hard to shake. That is also around the time when the pieces just started to feel convenient and a little too easy.

My thoughts on The Business Trip are a little all over the place, because I liked it but it had flaws. I think fans of thrillers, especially psychological thrillers will enjoy this one and I look forward to see what Jessie Garcia has in store for her sophomore release.

Narrated by a cast of characters I felt this elevated the audiobook because there are so many characters to keep track of which can often be difficult when it's only a person or two. The decision for each character to sound so different was a smart one and I would definitely recommend the audiobook for this reason.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC.

The Business Trip (audio) 5⭐️

What a wonderfully unhinged roller coaster.

The book opens introducing two women both headed to the airport. Their circumstances are very different. I looked forward to seeing how their paths were going to cross, but then POVs switched to their friends/coworkers. Things seem “off” and then I REALLY needed to know what happened on that plane. This was so smartly written, especially for a debut novel. I loved the chaos throughout and how everything wrapped up by the end.

Audio specific: Superb production and voice acting! Several narrators was a great choice with so many POVs.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date Jan 14 2025

"The Business Trip" delivers high tension right from the start, as main character Jasmine sneaks out of her home to escape her violent boyfriend. Fleeing the state, she meets Stephanie on her flight, a high-powered executive who runs a news station. After the flight, both women go missing — yet each sends texts to her friends, claiming that she's fallen in love with a man called Trent McCarthy. As their friends grow increasingly suspicious of their sudden departures and out-of-character texts, they begin to dig deeper into what may have happened to the two women.

This was a fun thriller and a solid fiction debut for the author. I loved that Jessie Garcia had some deeper character development, which can sometimes be glossed over in favor of fast thrills. Garcia masterfully moved me from rooting for certain characters to instead wanting to see their demise. The ending was a bit far-fetched, but it was a good twist I did not see coming.

This is a full cast narration that's well produced, creating a fully immersive experience that alternates between several points of view. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Jessie Garcia for an advance copy for honest review.

*The Business Trip* by Jesse Garcia is a gripping psychological thriller that expertly weaves suspense and intrigue. The story introduces Jasmine, a woman haunted by a troubled past, desperately seeking an escape, and Stephanie, a determined and ambitious career woman en route to an important business trip. The two strangers strike up a seemingly casual conversation on the plane, but days later, both women mysteriously vanish. As the story unfolds, readers are left in a constant state of uncertainty, never sure who to trust or suspect, making for a deeply engaging and unpredictable narrative.

The pacing of the novel is taut and skillfully executed, keeping me on edge as I tried to piece together the clues. The plot is clever and original, offering just enough twists to keep me guessing until the final pages.

Overall, *The Business Trip* is a captivating thriller that keeps you hooked from start to finish. It’s a thought-provoking exploration of how our past shapes who we are, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a story that challenges the mind while delivering edge-of-your-seat suspense.

I listened to the audiobook of this one and I really enjoyed the cast of narrators and thought they did a great job bringing the characters to life. This book moved slowly at first, but I liked the way the story unfolded. I liked that the reader gets to see multiple views of the characters because there were so many views. Jasmine has planned out leaving her abusive boyfriend and going off to start a new life. Stephanie is headed to a news conference even if she is tired of the boring work travel she always seems to get stuck with. The two women are about to go on a topsy turvy journey that no one could have predicted. The last third of the book was excellent (although I saw the final curve coming) and it would have been 5 stars if the beginning hadn’t of been so slow. I definitely would be interested in more from this author.

The Business Trip is a great thriller that kept me invested throughout. Jasmine and Stephanie are strangers. They meet on a plane and then both go missing. The only thing they had in common was texts that they sent people back home about meeting a man named Trent McCarthy.

I was invested in both stories, and it’s impossible to talk about a lot of this without some spoilers that happen midway. My only complaint with this book was the number of characters. They were not all integral to the story, but there were still a lot of names thrown at you.

This had an ending I didn’t see coming, and I will be willing to bet that you won’t see it coming either. If you like thrillers, then this is one to check out for sure.

Stephanie and Jasmine end up on the same plane when Stephanie is going on a business trip and Jessica is running away from her abusive relationship. They sit near each other and have conversation, but other than that, they have nothing in common. They both will text their friends a similar message about the same man and share details of their relationship with him. Stephanie and Jasmine both disappear and it leaves their friends freaking out, wondering what happened. Both sets of friends start to look into Trent McCarthy and what he could have done to these women.

There were quite a few characters to keep up with and two main points that made this story a little ridiculous for me. 1. Jasmine was not portrayed as smart in the beginning with having to have a friend help her use uber so hoe did she know how to plan for some of the identity stealing that she tried to do? She went from being so dumb and having to depend on her abusive boyfriend to being really smart and intuitive. 2. It made no sense that they both would have disappeared at the same time and had the same relationship with the same guy if the cops would have talked to both sets of friends. Other than these two points, the twists and turns, and who actually did it kept me intrigued the whole time. The ending was a good twist with another case of switched identity.

The Business Trip is a dark debut that follows two women - Stephanie and Jasmine - and what happens to them after a fateful flight.

This story was wild - broken into different parts, with numerous POV chapters from the entire cast of characters, you never quite know what you're about to read next. The timeline and POV swaps allow for the reader to experience the story in forward motion, then concurrently, then backtracking to reveal what we missed - and it just adds to the overall craziness of what the plot reveals.

Jessie Garcia has done a great job at giving the cast of characters a wide range of attributes and quirks that make you like some, hate others, root for a few, and ultimately never really know what's going on in the head of some. Her character development and depth is what made this novel stand out - I haven't read a thriller in awhile where the cast was so fully fleshed out.

The audiobook has a full cast - which adds such a fun element to this story. Listening to it, you're able to clearly understand all the narrators at a higher listening speed which is important to a lot of readers. The differing voices also allows you to easily keep straight who is talking when - which comes in handy with all the different POV chapters and swapping of timelines, this was a great call on part of the author. Because of the full cast, I'm giving the audiobook a 5 star review - one extra star specifically for the vocal talent.

Without giving away any of the plot, I can honestly say I haven't read a book like this before. The story unfolds over a few short days, and so much happens it kind of makes my head spin. I'll be keeping my eye out for her next novel for sure!

Reading in Between the Wines book review #125/130 for 2024:
Rating: 4 🍷🍷🍷🍷
Book: The Business Trip
Author: Jessie Garcia
RELEASES on January 14, 2025!!!

Sipping thoughts: I listened to the audio version of this book, and I LOVED that each character actually had their own narrator. There were a lot of characters, though, and I had to take notes to keep track of who was who, but that was only for a small part of the book. I love a good thriller and one that just feeds you piece by piece until you have the full picture. The Business Trip was twisty, bits of humor, and full of less than likable characters. I have to say, though. that I found myself rooting for the villain even though I did not want to. I know Garcia recently started writing fiction books, and I hope she continues to give us this level of thrillers.

Cheers and thank you to @Netgalley and @MacmillanAudio for an advanced copy of @TheBusinessTrip.

#TheBusinessTrip #JessieGarcia #MacmillanAudio #NetGalley #ARC #advancedreader #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

I must admit that I’m a new reader of the thriller genre. There’s characters you love, characters you’ll love to hate, twists, and misdirection; sometimes satisfying, shocking, eye rolling and WTF. The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia audiobook with multicast narration became my latest guilty pleasure. I needed a distraction from reality and finished in two days. The book’s synopsis: “Stephanie and Jasmine have nothing and everything in common. The two women don’t know each other but are on the same plane. Stephanie is on a business trip and Jasmine is fleeing an abusive relationship. After a few days, they text their friends the same exact messages about the same man—the messages becoming stranger and more erratic. And then the two women vanish.” At 40% in, some things were becoming clear to me…but then misdirection. There is one twist that I have to give a well played to. It definitely is a page turner for sure. ALC was provided by Macmillan Audio via NetGalley. I received an advance listening copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Holy cow!! If this is a debut, well… 😮😮😮

Jasmine is a young woman fleeing an abusive relationship. She’s been saving scraps of money for a long time, in order to make her escape.

Stephanie is a business woman. A news anchor. She’s on her way to a conference…another one. Seems like all she does is work, work, work…
She is divorced and estranged from her son…

When the two meet on the airplane, Jasmine feels like it is fate!!

But…they have NOTHING in common. They are from two very different worlds….

And then, the sh*t hits the fan… and the bottom drops out!

This one had twist after twist after twist!

BUT, thanks to good friends, clues are found and followed!!

Amazing storyline. Insane characters. And…picking my jaw up off the floor multiple times! 😮

Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook.
**** PLEASE NOTE: THIS WILL BE RELEASED ON 1/14/25!! ****
So, look 👀 for it then!!

#TheBusinessTrip by #JessieGarcia and narrated beautifully by a FULL CAST!!

4 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me, rounded up to 5!!

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4.5 stars

Well, that was a twisty "trip"! This one kept me guessing the entire way through. I loved the different character POVs and the audio narration was excellent. The characters were all a little sketchy in the best way and this was an overall fast, unputdownable wild ride that I'm not sorry I went on. And everyone thinks traveling for work is boring...

Make sure you put this book on the top of your 2025 TBR. You won't be sorry you did!

I just finished the audio of the Business Trip. I can't say if I liked it or not. It may be that I didn't care for the narrators. I liked some and I didn't like others. The story seemed a bit far fetched and long. I was hoping for a different outcome for Jasmine. Trent was irritating. I am just all over the place. I wish I read it instead of the audio but I did finish it nonetheless. Thank you advanced copy.

Well this had a very promising start. I really enjoyed the first part of the book and was eager to listen to this one unfold. Unfortunately, it turned way too much for me in the last 1/3 of the book. Almost didn’t finish.
Thank you to NetGalley and t publishing for the Advance audio copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
2.5 -ish ⭐️⭐️1/2

I loved the narration of this book. I loved the different viewpoints and honestly I did not know where this book was going at all. The ending was perfect! The whole book was super twisty. You will want to read or listen to this book!!!

A superb debut novel and exceptional narration.
I am eagerly anticipating further works by this author. I highly recommend this book to enthusiasts of the mystery and thriller genres.

Envy and vengeance prove to be a deadly combination in this wildly unpredictable thriller. I enjoyed the different POVs and was entertained and surprised by how all the pieces cleverly came together. The plot is intense and intriguing with unexpected twists throughout. This is an impressive debut. I look forward to reading more thrillers by Jessica Garcia in the future. The narration masterfully brought the story to life while adding suspense and intensity. Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my audiobook.

Talk about a wild ride! This book had so many twists, and I loved it.. The twists were something I did not see coming and they continued all the way to the end. I enjoyed all of the different perspectives that this book was told in. This book was brilliantly written and very enjoyable! I listen to the audiobook and it was amazing! Each character had a different narrator, and that really helped me follow along